Merchants and consumers would agree that in recent years, shopping has shifted from being done in brick-and-mortar stores, to being done online and this trajectory was drastically accelerated by COVID-19. Now people are buying everything from groceries to furniture to electronics online.

As the chart below illustrates, more than $5 Trillion (about 30% of global retail spending) is up for grabs.

2020 was a year for the record books. It’s one that we’ll remember forever. It was a year of change where our collective patience and ability to adapt was tested. Many of us are ready to put this year behind us, but before we do, let’s take a look back at some of its bright spots. We wanted to share a look back at major events from our portfolio companies, insights from the team, and give a sneak peek of the year ahead.

Over the past several months, as the pandemic has raged globally, the restaurant industry has experienced some of the most dramatic changes in customer behavior and expectations. The operators have adopted new strategies to drive sales. For example, they are executing higher volumes of family-oriented marketing tactics like meal kits, kids eat free campaigns, and elderly-only hours. They are creating campaigns to support local communities, like offering discounts for healthcare workers and first responders or giving away gift cards. Restaurants are also increasing deployment of digital innovations such as online ordering, curbside pickup, contactless delivery and contactless payments.

The shifts…

One of the lessons that the last few months have taught us is that remote work is here to stay. Love it or hate it, where and how we work is changing. Let’s take a look at the past, present, and future of remote work and how SaaS tools, like CloudApp (a Cervin portfolio company), are helping drive the transition.

The past

Many companies started experimenting with remote work arrangements years ago — even before the global COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys show that in the pre-COVID world, 57% of Gen Zers, 50% of Millennials, and even 46% of Gen Xers worked from home…

The holiday season and the associated retail rush is right around the corner. Of course, this year, it will look a little different as a result of COVID-19, but that’s all the more reason for retailers and brands to prepare for the holiday season and the new challenges it’s sure to bring this year - for instance an increase in online shopping and use of curbside pickup services.

One way to prepare for and tackle the upcoming season’s potential challenges is with easily interpreted high-quality data that is used to guide decision-making. Getting this data doesn’t take an army of…

5G just got real

At the latest Apple product release event, the CEO of Verizon made this pronouncement — “5G just got real”. Apple’s new line of phones has incorporated 5G and this will begin the process of unleashing a myriad of applications. At Cervin, we’ve been actively exploring enterprise use cases for 5G and have written both about The Coming Tsunami of 5G Networks and Enterprise 5G in the age of WiFi.

Cervin GP, Shirish Sathaye says, “The designers of 3G never imagined applications like Google Maps, the architects of 4G never imagined the on-demand economy. Who knows what applications will be powered…

A conversation with the CEO of Bedrock Analytics

Words aren’t the only way to tell a story. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands want to interpret data to understand their business performance and make a stronger case to retailers. Small to mid-size CPG brands want to be more competitive with large brands that have in-house teams of analysts at their disposal. Technology can help level the playing field.

We spoke with Will Salcido, the CEO of Bedrock Analytics, a Cervin portfolio company, that uses machine learning to take syndicated & retail data and transform it into dynamic selling stories. …

By: Samir Shah, Operating Partner

I ran a startup for ten years. As I look back on that time, I wonder if I had completely thought through how much responsibility I was taking on when I decided to start my own company.

This reflection is sparked by talking to entrepreneurs today, listening to their earnest pitches, and watching them execute the oh-so-important first couple of years. I hope that they are aware of how much responsibility they have taken on and in which areas. As a first time entrepreneur, nothing in your past really prepares you for this. …